The top leaders of South Korea and Japan will hold a summit in Seoul next month, signaling a resumption of the biannual shuttle summit that has been often frayed over historical and territorial issues.
"Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to make a two-day trip to South Korea Jan. 10-12," a South Korean foreign ministry official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Saturday.
The official said the summit is aimed at discussing their bilateral issues and the North Korean nuclear problem, among other agendas.
Meanwhile, Chosun Ilbo Saturday said that the primary goal of the summit, unusually timed in early January _ a major holiday time _ is for the two countries to prepare and coordinate their political agendas before the commencement of the new Obama administration, which will be officially launched on Jan. 20.
“The details of the Obama administration’s strategy on East Asia have not been known. So, the two countries will exchange views on this matter. For Japan, which suffered ‘neglect’ from the U.S. government when the Democrats-led administration was launched in 1993, it definitely doesn’t want the repeat of the experience. This time, it wants to be fully ready for the new U.S. administration,” Chosun said citing an anonymous diplomatic official.